Only one major flaw with the end of the episode . . .

the fact that Mercedes, and Santana to an extent, kept saying that coming back to ND would mean taking second stage to Rachel. 

Um, Mercedes? Santana?  Rachel wasn’t even performing … and the New Directions still won.

#TimeToRethinkYourWorldView

P.S. I guess coming to realize that she’s always been selling herself short—it hasn’t been Rachel getting in her way—is still part of Mercedes’ story for the rest of the season.